2/18/2006

Beer Blogging

Today we have the Ruination IPA from Stone Brewing Co. (the brewers of the more famous Arrogant Bastard Ale).

This is an India Pale Ale, which means it should be bitter and have a strong flavor, and it lives up to this goal for sure. From the back of the bottle:

Stone Ruination IPA. So called because of the immediate ruinous effect on your palate. The moment after the first swallow, all other food and drink items suddenly become substantially more bland than they were just seconds before. By the time you develop a taste for this beer, you may find that you are permenantly ruined from being able to enjoy lesser brews.

At the first sip, this beer kicks you right in the mouth. Hops, hops and more hops. After you get past the initial bitterness, though, there's more: a light malty flavor, and a surprisingly refreshing aftertaste, dry but not too dry. This beer has 7.7% ABV, but it hides it very well - you get very little hint of all that alcohol. You can tell that somebody put a lot of time into crafting the Ruination IPA.

I would recommend this beer, but only if you already really like hoppy beers in general and IPAs in particular. If not, you'll probably get lost in all the bitterness, and it won't be that pleasant of a drinking experience. And nobody wants that.